Edith Cresson

Edith Cresson (27 January 1934-) was Prime Minister of France from 15 May 1991 to 2 April 1992, succeeding Michel Rocard and preceding Pierre Beregovoy. She was a member of the Socialist Party of France.

Biography
Edith Cresson was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France on 27 January 1934, the daughter of a finance inspector and the wife of a high-ranking executive. She was an organizer of the youth Socialist Party of France from 1974 to 1879 and a member of the Agricultural Commission of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1981 before joining all socialist cabinets of the 1980s. She served as Minister of Agriculture from 1981 to 1983, Minister of Trade from 1983 to 1984, Minister of Industry from 1984 to 1986, and Minister of European Affairs from 1988 to 1990. Her appointment as the first woman Prime Minister of France in 1991 was applauded as a radical step, but she soon became extremely unpopular because of her stringent economic policies and for her tactless outbursts, as well as her accusation that English people were singularly prone to homosexuality, and that the Japanese were "ants". She resigned in 1992, and she worked for private industry afterwards.